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Ancient Woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland dating back to 1600 or before in England and Wales, or 1750 in Scotland. Before this, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally. For many species of animal and plant, Ancient Woodland sites provide the sole habitat, and for many others, conditions on these sites are much more suitable than those on other sites. For these reasons Ancient Woodland is often described as an irreplaceable resource. The analogous American term is “old growth forest”.Characteristics of Ancient Woodland
Species which are particularly characteristic of Ancient Woodland sites are called Ancient Woodland Indicator species. The term tends to be applied more commonly to plant species than to animals, as they are slower to colonise planted woodlands, and are thus viewed as more reliable indicators of ancient woodland sites.

Ancient Woodland Inventories
Ancient woods over 20,000 square metres in size are recorded in Ancient Woodland Inventories, compiled in the 1980s and 1990s by the Nature Conservancy Council in England, Wales, and Scotland and maintained by its successor organisations in those countries. ancients woodlands include: